I want to say the star of this dish is the chicken. But that would be lying. Because this, my friends, is all about the RICE! People have said this One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is the best chicken and rice recipe they’ve ever had (their words not mine!). I hope you feel the same when you try it!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Chicken and rice – elevated!
What makes this lemon rice so special, you might ask? Well, it’s like cooking the rice in triple strength chicken stock because the chicken is cooked ON TOP of the rice. So it gets the full benefit of all the juices from the chicken seeping into it while it cooks. Add the fresh flavours of lemon and boom! You will knock the socks off anyone you serve this too!
Big promises I know….but I have third party validation of this. Someone who always tells me the truth about my dishes. Especially “inventions” which I often pass on because I know I’ll get truthful feedback. I do love my friends dearly, but honestly, not everything I make them can be “OMG, this is so delicious!!” (Seriously, I love my friends, love them to bits!)
So in this particular case, her family raved about the rice so I’m just passing on that message. 🙂 (PS She was quick to point out that the chicken was lovely too, she just said that the STAR of the dish was the rice! I’m totally cool with that! 🙂 )
This is not an authentic Greek Chicken recipe (as far as I know!) but it is made using classic Greek ingredients. It uses the same technique I use for my One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice. There’s nothing tricky or ground breaking, it’s just about getting the liquid to rice ratio right. Rice baked in the oven requires a lot more water than when it’s cooked on the stove. And when you plop chicken on top of the rice, it drops liquid so you need to take that into account.
To make this Greek Chicken recipe in one pot (well, pan – why do I keep writing “pot”??!), the chicken is seared in the pan first, then the rice is added, the chicken placed back on top then it’s popped in the oven. The magic happens while it’s baking. As the chicken cooks, all the juices seep into the rice which are soaked up by the rice and add incredible flavour. INCREDIBLE flavour. It honestly is like triple strength chicken stock.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I can’t hold back any longer. I need some lunch! – Nagi
More dinner in one pot!
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – made in one skillet in 15 minutes!
Browse all One Pot recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 5 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in (about 1 kg / 2 lb) (Note 1)
- 1 – 2 lemons, use the zest + 4 tbsp lemon juice (Note 7)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
Rice
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, separated
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup (180g) long grain rice , uncooked (Note 6)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) chicken broth / stock
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) water
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Garnish
- Finely chopped parsley or oregano (optional)
- Fresh lemon zest (highly recommended)
Instructions
- Combine the Chicken and Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and set aside for at least 20 minutes but preferably overnight.
To Cook
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Remove chicken from marinade, but reserve the Marinade.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a deep, heavy based skillet (Note 2) over medium high heat.
- Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, then turn and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Pour off fat and wipe the pan with a scrunched up ball of paper towel (to remove black bits), then return to the stove.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes until translucent. Then add the remaining Rice ingredients and reserved Marinade.
- Let the liquid come to a simmer and let it simmer for 30 seconds. Place the chicken on top then place a lid on the skillet (Note 3). Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (so 45 minutes in total).
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley or oregano and fresh lemon zest, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
If you like this one pot Greek Chicken recipe, you may also enjoy my ONE POT BAKED GREEK CHICKEN ORZO (RISONI)!
And if you’re after another Greek Chicken recipe (because let’s face it, the Greeks know how to make GOOD CHICKEN!), I think you’ll enjoy my GREEK CHICKEN GYROS.
The yoghurt lemon marinade for this chicken is incredible!
LIFE OF DOZER
His chest hair bursting out of his sweater…. SO CUTE!!!
Hi Nagi. Wow. This recipe is phenomenal! Made it for dinner tonight, and my husband and I loved it. The flavors are amazing. I followed the recipe as written with the only exception of using Italian seasoning mix, as I was out of oregano. The chicken is so moist and delicious, and the rice is just ridiculously good. Will definitely be making this again. Can’t wait to make it for my son- he is in college. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe! Look forward to trying more of your creations!
Woo hoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Cathy, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
I love a one pot meal! I included the recipe link in my blog’s Weekly Meal Plan. I hope a lot of my readers give it a try 🙂
Thank you Vanessa, I’m so honoured! 🙂 N x
i made this today for dinner at home and for my employer,so damn good,my new favourite.another NAGI–licious recipe,more recipe please thank you
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed it May, THANK YOU for letting me know! N x
Delicious!!! I used a 12in cast iron skillet, was able to fit 8 thighs, and I made 1 and 1/2 the amount of rice, everything just fit in the skillet. Only change I made was to deglaze the pan with some white wine, scraping up and keeping all the brown bits before adding onion, rice etc. Great recipe, this is a keeper!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Pat, thanks for letting me know! N x
Hi Nagi! Made a double batch of this in my extra large dutch and it was WONDERFUL! Just curious, has anyone used white wine instead of the water? I also TRIPLED the mushrooms which made the rice even more flavorful! I decided to only brown half of the the chicken with the skins on, due to the fat content the first time around. Thank you for such an awesome dish! My GO TO! ; )
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jason, thank you for letting me know! I think using just white wine will be a bit too strong but you could deglaze the dutch oven with white wine, it would be delicious! N x
We are going to try and make this to serve 80+. So my question is can I cook the chicken and start the rice in the skillet and the transfer to a baking pan.
Thank you
Hi Melanie – 80?? WOW!! 🙂 I would make scaled up batches in large baking dishes 🙂 So follow the recipe up to the point where you are about to put it in the oven and transfer the liquid plus rice into a baking dish which has been preheated in the oven. That way I think you will be able to fit a double or even triple batch per large baking dish. Hope that helps!
Can you freeze this dish after cooking it?
I wouldn’t recommend it Cheryl, I think you will lose the fresh lemon flavour 🙂 It will freeze fine, no problems with it, just that the flavour won’t be as fresh. 🙂
Just curious if anyone else thought it was really heavy on oregano. I did double the rice So perhaps that is why? 2 Tbsps is a lot! My kids wouldn’t eat it and my husband didn’t enjoy it. I think it would have been delicious if I used far less. I did use chicken breasts. Marinated them and then grilled them. Added then 20.minutes in as suggested. Chicken was delicious! I will try this again but perhaps with a couple tsps of oregano instead. Thanks!
Hi Christine – sorry you thought the oregano was too strong for your taste, I can 100% honestly say no one else has messaged me with that feedback. Did you marinate the chicken? Marinating makes the flavour of the oregano in the marinade more mild which is why I add more into the rice. 🙂
Is the only liquid in the chicken marinade the lemon juice? I had a hard time (using all the juice from two lemons, more than 4 Tbsp) mixing the marinade together so added a tablespoon of olive oil. Is there supposed to be any oil in the marinade?
Either way, it was super delicious!
Hi Jenn! I find that the minced garlic is juicy and that’s what adds extra moisture. No oil needed. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it though!!
I was really excited to try this recipe because of all the great reviews, but I was disappointed. I am sure this is partly because I have a tendency to do something wrong in the simplest recipes. My rice was way too soggy and I couldn’t get the chicken to crisp up. I probably should have browned the thighs on a higher heat, but what can I do to next time to keep the rice from being so soggy? I use stainless steel pans… could this effect it?
Hi Megalena! I hope you aren’t disheartened, everyone has bad days in the kitchen, me included! If your rice was soggy, it sounds like you measured the liquid wrong 🙁 The rice should definitely not be soggy – I’m Japanese by background and am very particular about ensuring rice is not soggy! Stainless steel pans should be ok, it will probably take a wee bit longer in the oven because it doesn’t retain heat quite as well. Certainly not the reason behind soggy rice. Hope you try it again!
I love this site!! Always mouthwatering recipes. ?
Thanks so much Cindi! 🙂 N x
This recipe was a big hit, but everyone clamorred for more rice. Can the rice measurements be doubled? What else would have to change?
Hi Chuck! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the rice so much!! Yes you can double the rice if you use an extra large skillet. 🙂 Or make it in a dutch oven – that will retain plenty of heat so it will work with just perhaps an extra 10 minutes of cooking time!
Dutch oven it is! Will all ingredients need to be doubled?
Hi Chuck – yes, all the rice ingredients. 🙂
This looks delicious! I will have to try this soon.
Hope you do Shae, this really is so delicious!
Hi Nagi! My mom and I made this dish today. Everyone loved it! My family ate every last grain of rice; it’s all gone!
Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!?
Hi Zainab! I’m so glad you and your mom enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
I’ve made this recipe twice now and I love it. First time with boneless skinless chicken breast and second time with drumsticks (bone in, skin on). It was good both ways. I took the advise of some others who had made it before me and I also added capers and olives. In addition, both times I made it I happened to have a jar of artichoke hearts in oil in the fridge and added some of them too. I also used 1/4 c. of key lime juice instead of the lemon since since my tree in the back is dripping with them right now. First time I made it I used brown rice, and second time I used a mixture of white rice and thai red rice. It was excellent both ways. I also increased the amount of rice; first time I used 1-1/2 cups of rice and second time 2 cups rice total, with liquids increased proportionally. I would have never thought to use lemon and so much oregano in a chicken and rice recipe, but this is the best chicken and rice I have ever made and I make it a lot. It was delicious.
Thanks for trying my recipe Marianne, and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Love your variations too 🙂 N x
So I just made this tonight for dinner and it was awesome! Super pleased and my boyfriend swore it was my best dish yet, hmm not sure about that (my dry rub Cajun fish is to die for) but I did love all the compliments. I did the stove top option and it came out great, chicken thighs are super flavorful I recommend them since I also used skinless chicken tenders and they weren’t as good flavor-wise. I recommend adding red chili powder to the tops of the chicken skins the last minute or two on the stove, I thought it was a fabulous kick of spice. My rice seemed to be lacking salt although I salted it like I always do, no clue what happened but next time I will do one thing different: I will add some bouillon cube to the rice when it cooks. I guess my chicken stock wasn’t as salty as I thought it would be! Thank you for this recipe I’m going to dig through the rest of your posts for more gold haha <3
Woo hoo! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this Levi, thank you so much for letting me know! N x PS I bet your Cajun rub is a killer, your BF needs to be careful when he is complimenting! BA HA HA!!
Hi, is there any possibility of making this dish into a vegetarian dish? I just love the thought of lemon & rice!
Hi Jo! How about some big chunks of cauliflower? 🙂 They would roast up beautifully!
Hi Nagi,
How DO you do it??? This was SO good. Kids ate it up pronto ? I didn’t get time to marinade and chicken was semi defrosted – it’s been cold here in Perth! But browned 4 chicken pieces in my big pan and used other half pan to fry up onion/garlic then added in the rice ?. squeezed half a lemon and put in home made stock (didn’t measure, I’ve gotten away with it so far!) threw it all in oven and it was soooo delicious. Everything over in just 1 hour and I threw in broccolini on top last 10 mins. Fantastic!! Have memorised it now for future quick, yummy dinners! ??????
Evangeline,
Did you cover the pan when you put the broccolini on top?
YES YES YES! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Evangeline!!!!
I made this tonight and loved it. I didn’t wipe out the skillet after browning the chicken. Instead I sautéed the onions, then added a splash of white wine and scraped up the browned bits for more flavor. Then I added small diced zucchini, sliced olives and capers before adding the chicken back in and adding it to the oven
I’m so glad you love this too Bev! Thank you so much for letting me know! N x
This was really yummy! I tried it with chicken breasts (since it was what I had on hand), but your pictures look so tasty, I can’t wait to try it with the thighs.
I made this last night. I loved it. I didn’t wipe out the skillet. Instead I scraped up the bits on the bottom after I added the liquid to help flavor the rice. I also stirred in some capers. chopped olives, and diced zucchini before I added the chicken back in and transferring it to the oven. I will definitely make this again.
Made this tonight with breasts as its what I had on hand. Tossed the breasts on the grill for some browning per side & additional flavor. My wife said it was delicious, restaurant quality taste. Outstanding recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and I’m SO GLAD you enjoyed it!! N x
WOO HOO! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks so much for trying my recipe! N x